News

In a New York Daily News Op-Ed, StudentsFirstNY's Executive Director Micah Lasher discusses failing results of the UFT-run charter school and what it means for the credibility of the union's philosophy going forward.

Sadly, after seven years of having complete control, the UFT's charter school "dropped from a “C” back down to a “D” on the city’s annual progress report released this month" and its "results have consistently ranked among the lowest in the charter sector and the city." The op-ed continues, noting:

"Since 2009-10, the school’s proficiency rates have not surpassed 48% in math or 34% in English. Even in its best years, it never scored above the bottom quarter of New York City’s charter schools in math — or the bottom half in English."

Lasher notes that "anyone who cares about student achievement wanted this school to succeed… But it did not succeed" and that:

"Voters should remember this fact as they weigh how much credibility to give the UFT’s rhetoric on improving public schools: When given seven years to show New York how to craft a great school, it didn’t even come close."